Codexis Obtains Court Order Awarding Summary Judgment of Patent Infringement against EnzymeWorks
August 08 2017 - 4:38PM
Business Wire
Codexis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDXS), a leading protein engineering
company, on Tuesday secured a federal court order awarding it
summary judgment on 10 claims of patent infringement it brought in
a lawsuit against Suzhou, China-based EnzymeWorks, Inc. and its San
Diego-based affiliate, also called EnzymeWorks, Inc. The court’s
order establishes EnzymeWorks’ uncontested infringement of 10 of
Codexis’ patents and eliminates any need for a trial on those
issues. The 10 Codexis patents cover dozens of engineered enzymes
that have wide industrial applicability.
In the lawsuit, filed in February 2016 in United States District
Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco,
Codexis sued EnzymeWorks and EnzymeWorks founder Junhua “Alex” Tao
for willful infringement of 10 biocatalysis patents and also for
trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract, interference
with business relationships and unfair competition. After nearly 18
months of legal process, EnzymeWorks never contested the
infringement charges or challenged the validity of Codexis’
patents. This set the stage for District Judge William H. Orrick
awarding Codexis summary judgment of patent infringement.
The court’s order was based on a stipulation in which
EnzymeWorks acknowledged that it “has not denied or disputed its
infringement” of Codexis’ 10 patents, or the validity of those
patents. This partial summary judgment order in favor of Codexis is
a key milestone in the lawsuit, but additional disputes remain to
be resolved at a jury trial.
Those continuing disputes include Tao’s individual liability for
the infringement, Codexis’ claims that the infringement was willful
and the amount of damages to be awarded to Codexis, and they also
include several claims arising under California state law.
“Codexis is pleased to finally have some closure about
EnzymeWorks’ blatant infringement of our patents and disrespect for
U.S. patent laws,” said John Nicols, CEO and president of Codexis.
“Like our customers and shareholders, Codexis relies on
intellectual property rights, and we are grateful that the legal
process vindicated our claims and protects our innovations.”
Nicols added, “We’re confident that once the court and a San
Francisco Bay Area jury hear all of the facts, they will award
significant damages to Codexis reflecting the tremendous value
EnzymeWorks and Tao illegally obtained by deliberately infringing
our patents, stealing our trade secrets and breaching our
contracts.” Nicols noted that Codexis spent several hundred million
dollars in innovating and developing proprietary biocatalysis
technologies over the company’s 15-plus year history.
About Codexis, Inc.Codexis, Inc. is a leading protein
engineering company that applies its technology to the development
of biocatalysts for commercial manufacture of pharmaceuticals and
fine chemicals, as well as the development of enzymes as
biotherapeutics and for molecular diagnostics. Codexis’ proven
technology enables implementation of biocatalytic solutions to meet
customer needs for rapid, cost-effective and sustainable
manufacturing. For more information, see www.codexis.com.
Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains
forward-looking statements relating to the lawsuit that Codexis
filed against EnzymeWorks and Junhua “Alex” Tao for patent
infringement, misappropriation of trade secrets, and other claims,
including the potential outcome of such litigation. You should not
place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements because
they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors that are, in some cases, beyond Codexis’ control and that
could materially affect actual results. Factors that could
materially affect actual results include that Codexis may not
prevail on some or all of its legal claims against Tao and
EnzymeWorks; Codexis may be involved in additional lawsuits to
protect or enforce its patents or other rights, which could be
expensive, time-consuming and unsuccessful; Codexis’ ability to
compete may decline if it does not adequately protect its
proprietary technologies or if it loses some of its intellectual
property rights; Codexis may not be able to enforce its
intellectual property rights throughout the world; if Codexis’
biocatalysts, or the genes that code for its biocatalysts, are
stolen or misappropriated, others could use these biocatalysts or
genes to produce competing products; third parties may claim that
Codexis is infringing their intellectual property rights or other
proprietary rights, which may subject Codexis to costly and
time-consuming litigation and prevent Codexis from developing or
commercializing its products; and confidentiality agreements with
employees and others may not adequately prevent disclosures of
trade secrets and other proprietary information. Additional factors
that could materially affect actual results can be found in
Codexis’ Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 9, 2017, including under the
caption “Risk Factors,” and in Codexis’ Quarterly Report on Form
10-Q filed with the SEC on May 9, 2017. Codexis expressly disclaims
any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking
statements, except as required by law.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170808006471/en/
For CodexisLHA Investor RelationsJody Cain,
310-691-7100jcain@lhai.comorSCORR MarketingLea Studer,
308-237-5567Senior Vice President of Marketing
Communicationslea@scorrmarketing.com
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